In my heart, I’d love to see the Obama administration pursue ISIS into Syria. First, because stopping genocide is a good justification for war. And when it comes to non-Sunni Muslims, ISIS’s intentions are baldly genocidal. Second, because in a post-9/11 world, there’s still something terrifying about allowing a violent jihadist organization to establish a de-facto country, in which it amasses wealth and operates freely, especially when some of its devotees hold Western passports. Third, because for all of America’s terrible mistakes and misdeeds in the Middle East, if the U.S. doesn’t act against ISIS, no one else will.

But while my heart is willing, one question keeps stymieing my brain. If we fight against ISIS in Syria, who will we be fighting for?

Bombing can pulverize an enemy, but only allies on the ground can seize its territory. In Iraq, it’s easier to grasp who those allies are: the Kurdish Peshmerga and perhaps the Iraqi Army.

Even in Iraq, these ground allies pose problems. The Peshmerga are a disciplined fighting force with a political agenda that is more pro-American and more liberal than anyone else’s in the neighborhood. But by supporting them, the U.S. may hasten Kurdish independence and the dissolution of Iraq. As for the Iraqi Army, its political overlords have in recent years proved so anti-Sunni that supporting the regime in Baghdad risks taking sides in a sectarian civil war.

Still, for all the problems with intervening militarily in Iraq, they pale next to the problems of doing so in Syria. In Syria, the United States has two potential ground allies. The first is the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the moderate Syrian opposition battling both ISIS and Bashar al-Assad’s brutal Alawite regime. The problem is that the Free Syrian Army isn’t much of an army and may not be all that moderate. “The FSA was always more fiction than reality,” wrote George Washington University’s Marc Lynch recently, “with a structure on paper masking the reality of highly localized and fragmented fighting groups on the ground.” Last year, Syria expert Aron Lund listed nine different rebel groups that the media sometimes identifies with the Free Syrian Army. “What do all of these groups have in common?” he asks. “None of them have any boots on the ground.”

The theory behind supporting Syria’s non-jihadist rebels has long been that an infusion of U.S. aid could strengthen and unify them. But it’s not even clear that the rebels the U.S. would empower are actually non-jihadist. Citing research by the University of Virginia’s Jonah Schulhofer-Wohl, Lynch argues that the moderate/jihadist dichotomy that governs much of the American discourse about opposition fighters in Syria doesn’t hold on the ground, where various armed groups have engaged in “rapidly shifting alliances.” As Abu Yusaf, an ISIS commander, recently told journalists with The Washington Post, “Many of the FSA people who the West has trained are actually joining us.”

Bombing ISIS fighters from the air and arming moderate rebels to attack them from the ground may sound attractive. But not if we can’t really tell them apart.

Then there’s America’s second potential ground ally in Syria: Bashar al-Assad. He commands a far more unified and effective fighting force than do the “moderate” Syrian rebels. He’s less of a threat to the United States than is ISIS. And he’s even preferable morally—in a Stalin versus Hitler kind of way. Some current and former British politicians now propose allying with the Syrian regime, at least in order to ensure that if American and British warplanes enter Syria to bomb ISIS, Assad’s anti-missile systems won’t shoot them down.

But given that President Obama called on Assad to leave power three years ago and last year almost bombed him for using chemical weapons, even a tacit alliance with the Syrian dictator would make Obama’s past flip-flops look trivial. In Washington, the outcry would be massive, especially because of Syria’s close ties to Iran. Regionally, it might be worse. If relations between Washington and long-standing Sunni allies like Saudi Arabia are frayed now—in part because the U.S. hasn’t intervened against Assad strongly enough—it’s hard to imagine the impact on those relationships were the U.S. and Assad to actually join forces.

From Somalia to Kosovo to Libya, the problem with America’s humanitarian interventions has never been ascertaining the nastiness of the people we’re fighting against. It’s been ascertaining the efficacy and decency of the people we’re fighting for. That’s a particular challenge in the case of ISIS in Syria.

I’d love to believe our government is wise enough to surmount that challenge. I’d love to, but I don’t.

Ash asked some good questions as did Quirk. The sad reality is regardless of the conditions we place on an intervention, they will be ignored. The US government simply can’t be trusted to keep its word or commitments. Had we not made such a mess of every intervention so far, it would be far easier to justify support but the history of our experience in the ME has been disastrous and universally bad. Can we just say, it is not our problem?

There will be intervention, take that as a given.What form that intervention takes, that is where the debate is taking place.Small footprint assisting allies at tactical levels, that is the 'Best Case Scenario'.

The further from that model the strategy strays, the worse it will be, for everyone involved, but especially bad for US..

As you suggested, it would be helpful to understand if there is support for the caliphate in the territories controlled by ISIS. If that is the case, then intervention is a prelude to another failure. Take a look at the comment below, titled:

What follows is a rather brilliant summation of events and the consequences:

Ukrainian troops are battling a Russian military column disguised as separatist fighters that had crossed into Ukraine and was heading towards the city of Mariupol, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Monday. Russia has denied the claims.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said government troops were battling a Russian military contingent of "10 tanks and two armoured personal carriers" that was bearing the flags used by separatist rebels in Donetsk.

An earlier military statement said border guards had halted the armoured column outside Novoazovsk, Ukraine's most southeasterly point on the Azov Sea.

"This morning there was an attempt by the Russian military, in the guise of Donbas fighters, to open a new area of military confrontation in the southern Donetsk region," spokesman Andriy Lysenko told journalists.

Donbas is the local name given to Ukraine's industrialised east and the focal point of the pro-Moscow separatist insurgency.

But Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov dismissed the reports of a Russian incursion, saying: "I haven't heard about it, but there has been more than enough disinformation about our invasion. No doubt some foreign newspaper will print that 'news' tomorrow."

The reported clashes could indicate an attempt by Russia to move on Mariupol, a major port on the Azov Sea, an arm of the Black Sea. The capture of Mariupol, which lies on the main road between Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, could be a first step in seizing territory that links Russia with Crimea, which Russia annexed in March.

Fighting between government forces and pro-Russian separatists has until now been concentrated around the two main rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Some 120 kilometres (75 miles) to the north, AFP journalists witnessed heavy fighting raging to the south of Donetsk, the main rebel bastion, a day after separatist leaders said they had deployed tanks and artillery to the area.

Explosions rang out and smoke rose from towns to the south of the city. Ukraine's military said four soldiers had been killed and 31 wounded in the past 24 hours.

Russia 'plans new aid convoy'

The latest fighting comes as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian leader Vladimir Putin prepare to meet for the first time in months alongside top EU officials on Tuesday in Minsk.

Poroshenko has pledged to "talk peace" with Putin when they meet but insists the withdrawal of pro-Kremlin rebel forces is the only way to end the conflict in east Ukraine.

Poroshenko signed a decree Monday to dissolve parliament, he announced in a Twitter post, paving the way for new elections to be held on Ocotber 26.

The Kremlin said on Monday that it planned to send another controversial aid convoy into east Ukraine sometime "this week".

Russia sent 230 lorries carrying what it claimed was 1,800 tonnes humanitarian aid to the rebel-held city of Lugansk on Friday. Kiev condemned the move as a "direct invasion" and the trucks returned to Russia on Saturday without incident.

More than 2,200 people have died and 400,000 have fled their homes after more than four months of fighting that has left residents in some rebel-held cities without water or power for weeks.

Kiev has accused Russia of ramping up arms supplies to the rebels as government troops have pushed deeper into rebel-held territory. Moscow, in turn, has blamed Ukraine's military offensive for the dire humanitarian situation in many portions of the east.

The reported clashes could indicate an attempt by Russia to move on Mariupol, a major port on the Azov Sea, an arm of the Black Sea. The capture of Mariupol, which lies on the main road between Russia and the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, could be a first step in seizing territory that links Russia with Crimea, which Russia annexed in March.

I haven't really been watching the reports coming out of Ukraine recently assuming both sides would be lying anyway; however, this assessment provides a reasonable rationale for a Russian incursion.

The long march: Libya’s capital falls to IslamistsPOSTED AT 6:41 PM ON AUGUST 25, 2014 BY NOAH ROTHMAN

It was the conflict which gave birth to the infamous and orphaned Obama doctrine of “leading from behind.” The coalition air war over Libya, a response to Muammar Gaddafi’s brutal efforts to suppress the Arab Spring rebellions in that country, was once touted by the administration as one of the president’s signature foreign policy achievements.

“After four decades of brutal dictatorship and eight months of deadly conflict, the Libyan people can now celebrate their freedom and the beginning of a new era of promise,” Obama said in a prepared statement delivered on October 23, 2011.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed the president and noted that Libya had been set on a path toward democracy. “The transitional authorities can build on this movement by promoting reconciliation and respect for human rights across Libyan society, while helping to prevent reprisals and ensuring the justice and due process that the Libyan people expect and deserve,” she said at the time.

“From Tripoli to Misurata to Benghazi — today, Libya is free,” Obama said in speech delivered before the United Nations. “This is how the international community is supposed to work — nations standing together for the sake of peace and security, and individuals claiming their rights.”

These celebrations were shown to be premature when a sophisticated terrorist attack against American diplomatic and CIA outposts in Benghazi resulted in the deaths of four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya. It was not until today, though, when the country’s capital fell to Islamist militants that the administration’s post-campaign Libya policy was exposed as utter folly.

“Libya’s Islamist militias said Sunday they have consolidated their hold on Tripoli and its international airport, driving out rival militias to the outskirts of the capital following a weekslong battle for control of the strategic hub,” The Washington Post reported on Monday.

The violence in Libya is rooted in the empowerment of militias after successive transitional governments since the 2011 ouster of longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi depended on them to maintain order in the absence of a strong police force or a unified military.

It also comes as part of a backlash by Islamist factions after losing their power in parliament following June elections and in the face of a campaign by a renegade military general against extremist Islamic militias in Benghazi, Libya’s second-largest city.

But this has been the worst bout of violence in the battle over turf and influence since 2011. Mysterious airstrikes have struck the positions of Islamist militias, sparking accusations by the groups that Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, who oppose Islamists in the region, were behind it.An Islamist group calling itself Dawn of Libya has declared that it is largely in control of Tripoli and the surrounding areas, making it the de facto governing authority in the area.

Coming on the heels of the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, it is easy to get the impression that Islamic fundamentalism is doing everything but retreating. From Kosovo to Saudi Arabia, local authorities are mopping up cells linked to the Islamic State. It is almost like the long march Islamic militant groups embarked on so long ago with the aim of creating a pan-Islamic caliphate is beginning to bear fruit.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/isis-incredible-fighting-force-us-special-ops-sources/story?id=25116463ISIS an 'Incredible' Fighting Force, US Special Ops Sources Say

“Our military objectives in Iraq right now are limited to protecting our personnel and facilities and address the humanitarian crisis,” Rhodes said. The “ultimate goal,” Rhodes said however, was to “defeat” ISIS.

“We have to be clear that this is a deeply-rooted organization… It is going to take time, a long time, to fully evict them from the communities where they operate,” he said. “In the long term, we’ll be working with our partners to defeat this organization.”

It has been said that the Jewish State already has 100's of nukes, so I ask, if they are NOT trying to commit genocide against it's enemies (like Iran) why have then NOT nuked them... Since the opposite is true, if the Iranians, Hezbollah, Hamas or EVEN the PLO had a nuke they would have USED it...

What follows is a rather brilliant summation of events and the consequences:

Caliphate—A Century, Compact and Simple

By Garen Yegparian on August 22, 2014 in Garen Yegparian click for more

We often forget that the Islamic Caliphate last resided in Constantinople in the person of the ruling sultan of the Ottoman Empire. With Ataturk’s abolition of the Ottoman monarch and state, the caliphate, too, disappeared, only to “reappear” a few weeks ago in the proclamation of the (Sunni) “Islamic State” as the latter’s murderous minions swept out of the territories they had occupied in Syria and “conquered” a significant segment of Iraq.

How did all this happen? What are the precedents? What connects these two caliphates? Who shares responsibility for these developments? How is all this connected, or relevant, to Armenian concerns (beyond the obvious immediate threat to the lives of those Armenians who fall under the rule of the “Islamic State”)?

A century ago, as its dying act, the last caliphate liquidated the Armenian population under its control. Far more than any other massacre of Christians by Muslims (or even vice-versa), this was a precedent-setting policy. It screamed, “From now on, states may eradicate human beings as suits their needs.” Thus was modern genocide born. No longer sufficed the slow-moving, decades- or centuries-long process of decimating the native populations of the Congo or Americas, nor the ancient “tradition” of wiping out the population and physical existence of city-states (think of what Rome did to Carthage), nor even the Mongol/Turkish tradition of conquest-by-carnage.

Unfortunately, the winners of World War I were still in a colonialist mindset and created artificial states over the ruins of the Ottoman Empire to suit their divide-and-conquer needs. Not only did the Armenians get shafted, but so did the Kurds, Arabs, and everyone else. I suspect part of the reason that Armenians were treated relatively well in the Arab countries was the budding Arab nationalism and its attendant decency. It was a non-religious movement, but a threat to European colonialists who set up monarchies and pseudo-democracies in countries constructed to maintain mutual tension. One need only look at Syria, Lebanon, and Iraq to see this reality. Then came Israel, established (at least partially) as atonement for the genocide Jews had just suffered.

After some three-quarters of a century of triple indignity, Arab populations have had enough. First, their legitimate national aspirations were perverted, strangled, and/or subverted through the bogus state boundaries created to divide them. Second, they were subjected to misrule in those states by tyrants (often successive, where a revolution promising liberation was co-opted by darker forces) who were often puppets of one or more of the great powers. Third, they perceived the creation of Israel (rightly or wrongly is not relevant at this point) as a dagger in their heart.{...}

In tandem, Iran’s people experienced similar disappointments. The pre-World War I constitutional revolution (in which Yeprem Khan, an ARF member, played a key role) ultimately was subverted with any progress/modernization made by the Pahlavi dynasty being rendered meaningless by the 1953 American-British engineered coup that toppled Prime Minister Mosaddegh. This ultimately led to religious forums becoming the venue and source of hope for liberation, as people saw nowhere else to turn, leading to the creation of an Islamic republic.

Similar religion-oriented ferment was present in the Arab world, probably inspired to some degree by the “progress” made in Iran through religion. In the Arab case, the most extreme ideologies had the most financial support because of the oil wealth of the countries hosting them (e.g., Saudi Arabia and its Wahhabis). Plus, the less extreme Muslim Brotherhood was brutally and repeatedly “contained” in Egypt and Syria. Add to this the context of the Cold War in which the West saw an advantage to using radical Islamists as proxies against the Soviet Union (primarily in Afghanistan), and you get a perfect storm developing.

People’s frustration (failure of Arab nationalism, despotic rulers, aborted “Arab Spring”), battlefront experience (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria), ideological context (decades of religion-based inspiration), financial support (Arab Gulf states), and rivalries among Arab states plus between Shias and Sunnis (and, in parallel, with Iran) led to the mess in Syria. Of course, Turkey, with its reborn Ottomanism (starting in the days of Prime Minister Turgut Ozal) being implemented as policy over the past decade by the AKP’s Erdogan and Davutoglu, had its fingers in the Syrian pie. It supported the Islamist radicals (think Kessab) and probably has a good relationship with them, much as it may be diplomatically convenient to pretend otherwise.

Now, we have Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi anointing himself as caliph. His forces are doing rather well, using the same murderous terror tactics (might we be witnessing the beginning of a genocide of Christians?) as the last caliphate (Ottoman) did to spread and maintain its control. Erdogan is president of Turkey, and likely will be for the next decade. How far can a rapprochement between Turkey and the “Islamic State” go? Consider that the latter is also fighting the Kurds who are also the Turkish regime’s perceived enemy (regardless of recent improvements and ongoing negotiations with jailed PKK leader Apo Ocalan).

If the West and current Arab leadership don’t wake up to this danger, there’s a good chance the latter will be wiped out and a new monster empowered by oil wealth, Turkey, and sheer enthusiasm born of ongoing victories will be pounding at the gates of Kurdistan, Israel, probably Iran, and possibly even further. The new caliphate’s overt and covert supporters will live to regret their support of the Ottoman Empire’s new heirs, and Armenians will continue to be “collateral damage” in the Middle East, and may even confront some problems on our twin republics’ borders as a result of this resurgent religious extremism.

Let’s start getting the word out before it’s too late for all concerned.

Then came Israel, established (at least partially) as atonement for the genocide Jews had just suffered.

Let's not forget that the Jewish people had been migrating BACK to Israel for 150 years. There were always jews there, but under the Ottomans and then the Brits? Jews were prohibited from going to home..

The interesting fact that many, on this blog, fail to understand? that the events of 1948 did not happen because of the european treatment of the Jews in WW2 but rather Jewish liberation/nationalism across the world woke up, JUST AS ARAB Nationalism was stoked by the USA in the late 1890's (early 1900's)

The Arab expulsion of 850,000 Jews from the area commonly called the levant HELPED secure a newly liberated Israel from those very same arab nations!

After WW2, mass of Jews from the Arab world were ethnically cleansed INTO Israel. In fact more Jews were displaced than arabs in the new creation of Israel.

Let's also remember the arab nations SIDED with Nazi Germany!

Iraq, Egypt to name the largest. But Vichy France HANDED the Nazis Lebanon, Syria and Iraq....

The arabs? Backed the wrong pony....

Briton of course, was pro-arab against the Jews... Just look to Lawrence of Arabia for that tale... The brit NEVER expected the Jews to survive ONE WEEK after they handed the police station, forts and weapons to the local arabs when Partition was finalized...

So Sorry that the Jews decided not to die....

Israel, it bears repeating, is 1/900th of the arab occupied middle east.

Sadly, the Tao of Quirk is a short tome, only filled with the bare essentials needed to successfully navigate through life. The scenario you discuss was not included among the observations in the initial edition. However, there is an Addendum filled with observations from various notables the names of whom I can no longer remember. One such might apply.

One of the great tricks of Satan is to display such evil that one could almost believe that their own sins didn't matter.

If the West and current Arab leadership don’t wake up to this danger, there’s a good chance the latter will be wiped out and a new monster empowered by oil wealth, Turkey, and sheer enthusiasm born of ongoing victories will be pounding at the gates of Kurdistan, Israel, probably Iran, and possibly even further.

Iran has created much of this... Iran SHOULD be the target of this crap...

The Iranian take over of Iraq, which drove the ex-saddamers to join with the jihadists at the same time the Iranian support for Assad, before there was an ISIS/ISIL and don't forget Hezbollah in the mood setting as well

Egypt still destroying Hamas smuggling tunnels. It also destroyed a Jihadist hospital.

From Egypt Independent:Military spokesperson Mohamed Samir said the Second Army arrested four wanted terrorists in Sheikh Zuweid and Rafah, destroyed a vehicle and six motorcycles without license plates that were allegedly used in carrying out terrorist attacks, and destroyed five tunnels in Rafah.

Samir added that 14 militants were killed in northern Sinai in an exchange of fire in the districts of al-Nosraniya, al-Zawraa and al-Quwaiaat, pointing out that the army arrested a very dangerous terrorist named Sweilam Mohamed Salem Salama.Clearly, Egypt regards the Islamists it is fighting to be the same as Hamas. It has stopped Gazans in the Sinai attempting to fire rockets towards Israel.

Oh, one other thing: The Egyptian army happily admits that it destroyed a hospital:Also, a field hospital that was allegedly used by terrorist elements was destroyed and equipment, such as a device to sterilize surgical instruments, an oxygen cylinder, a filter for surgical operations, a device for measuring blood pressure and a furnace for sterilization, were seized.Yes, the Egyptian army is bragging about targeting and destroying a hospital!

Because they know that the world doesn't care when some people violate international law.

Israeli air strikes launched before dawn on Tuesday killed two Palestinians and destroyed much of one of Gaza's tallest apartment and office buildings, setting off huge explosions and wounding 20 people, Palestinian health officials said.

I love the part about the 135 rockets hamas fired 1st... Oh not in this version... But wait there is more.

"setting off HUGH explosions" that must have been when all those folk's hummus ignited at the same time.... LOL

When Israel takes out a civilian location and the 2ndary explosions are larger than the IDF's rockets? Once MUST conclude that the Palestinians were making moon shine..... or not.

Fatalities were averted by warnings issued to residents to vacate the premises and two non-explosive warning missiles fired by drones.

The attacks followed a day of heavy rocket fire at Israel, whose military said more than 130 rockets and mortar bombs were fired from Gaza on Monday, one of them injuring a civilian.

Hamas claimed responsibility for firing rockets at Tel Aviv, at least one of which was shot down by Israel's Iron Dome interceptor. Warning sirens were also heard in Israeli communities bordering Ben-Gurion International Airport.

President Obama has authorized military surveillance flights over Syria to gather intelligence about Islamic extremists ahead of possible U.S. airstrikes, senior administration officials said Monday.

The Pentagon began the flights in recent days and is prepared to use both manned and unmanned aircraft to gain a better picture of Islamic State, the well-armed extremist group that controls large swaths of territory in Syria and northern and western Iraq, the officials said.

"This is about gaining situational awareness with respect to possible airstrikes in Syria," said one official, referring to the surveillance flights.

The Pentagon has conducted surveillance of Syria before, but the latest flights are focused on identifying possible military targets, the official said.

Pentagon officials are worried that aircraft conducting the overflights could be shot down, either by Syrian army air defenses or by the militants, the official added.

But the U.S. can use high-altitude U-2 spy planes and drones to lessen the danger from antiaircraft fire and possibly jet-powered drones with radar-deflecting stealth technology.

‎Syrian air defenses are not as formidable in remote areas in the country's north and east near Iraq, where Islamic State fighters are concentrated and where the flights are likely to focus, a second official said.

But some Islamic State militants and leaders have also pushed into Syrian cities, where the air defenses are considered formidable, raising the risk that a U.S. plane could be shot down.

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraq's Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi said on Sunday during talks with Iran's foreign minister that international efforts would be necessary to destroy Islamic State Sunni militants who have seized swathes of his country and of Syria.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, a Shi'ite Muslim regional power likely to wield influence over the formation of Abadi's new cabinet, reaffirmed Tehran's support for Iraq's territorial unity and its fight against militants.

"Abadi pointed to the presence of many dangers posed in the region as a result of the existence of the terrorist gang Islamic State which requires regional and international efforts to exterminate this terrorist organization," his office said in a statement after the talks with Zarif.

The advance of Islamic State through northern Iraq has alarmed the Baghdad government and its Western allies, prompting the first U.S. air strikes in Iraq since U.S. occupation forces pulled out in 2011.

The Sunni Muslim militant group sees Shi'ite Muslims -- a majority in Iraq -- as infidels who deserve to be killed and has driven thousands of non-Muslims from their homes.

Bombings across Iraq killed at least 35 people on Saturday in apparent revenge attacks after Shi'ite militiamen machine-gunned a Sunni Muslim mosque in Diyala Province on Friday, killing 68 worshippers in an attack that further deepens the country's sectarian conflict.

Critics have accused Iraq's outgoing prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite like Abadi, of fueling the conflict by pursuing a narrowly sectarian agenda that excluded Sunnis from positions of power and influence.

Critics have accused Iraq's outgoing prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, a Shi'ite like Abadi, of fueling the conflict by pursuing a narrowly sectarian agenda that excluded Sunnis from positions of power and influence.

Sources in Moscow have admitted that men captured inside Ukraine are indeed serving Russian soldiers, but said they crossed the border by mistake. The admission comes as President Vladimir Putin is due to land in Minsk for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart on Tuesday afternoon.

Videos were released by Ukrainian authorities of interrogations of prisoners, who said they were serving Russian army officers. One said he had not been told exactly where they were going, but had an idea he was inside Ukraine. There was no immediate confirmation of the authenticity of the recordings, but the fact that Russian wire agencies ran a defence ministry admission that soldiers had indeed crossed into Ukraine suggested that the footage was genuine.

"The soldiers really did participate in a patrol of a section of the Russian-Ukrainian border, crossed it by accident on an unmarked section, and as far as we understand showed no resistance to the armed forces of Ukraine when they were detained," a source in Russia's defence ministry told the RIA Novosti agency.

Ukraine said it had captured 10 Russian soldiers, though it did not state how they were caught. Weapons and fighters are able to cross the porous border freely, but until now there has never been confirmation that serving Russian soldiers are active inside Ukraine, despite repeated claims from Kiev and some circumstantial evidence.

This makes the videos released on Tuesday all the more significant, if authenticated.

Two weeks ago, the Guardian saw a convoy of armoured personnel carriers and support trucks with Russian military plates cross an unmarked section of the border near the town of Donetsk.

Russia furiously denied that any incursion had taken place, and said the column was on a “border patrol" mission that stayed strictly on the Russian side.

s Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko dissolves the country's parliament, we look at the role that far-right groups have played in his government – and whose role could increase after October's elections.

The ongoing crisis in Ukraine has seen a significant loss of life. Over 2,000 people have been killed since Kiev launched it's “anti-terrorist” operation in April.

President Poroshenko has received near unconditional backing from NATO, the United States and the European Union, despite the widespread reports of civilian casualties in the eastern regions.

This support continues despite recent press coverage highlighting the uncomfortable presence of far-right and neo-Nazi groups fighting alongside the Ukrainian army in the eastern provinces, raising the possibility of Kiev's tolerance of fascism.

Government depends of the far-right

The pro-European protests – dubbed Euromaidan for taking place on Maidan Square in Kiev – began in November 2013, after President Yanukovich announced Ukraine would not sign a free trade agreement with the EU.

By December the protests became increasingly violent, with visible leaders emerging. By January, the streets of Kiev looked like a war zone.

The key leaders of the Euromaidan movement were former professional boxer Vitaly Klitschko, now mayor of Kiev; Arseniy Yatsenyuk current Prime Minister and member of the Fatherland party and Oleg Tyahnybok, leader of the far-right Svoboda party.

Svoboda, Klitschko's Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) and the Fatherland party have been the greatest political winners from the ousting of Yanukovich, taking over 36 percent of seats in the Rada – Ukraine´s parliament - and becoming the major political alliance backing President Poroshenko.

In total, 285 out of the 445 deputies backed the government coalition. Most deputies in the recently dissolved parliament did not belong to any major party. But the core government alliance – which was granted key positions within Poroshenko's government – comprises extreme-right wing forces that led Euromaidan.

Svoboda party: rehabilitating Ukraine’s Nazi past

The Svoboda party was originally named the Social Nationalist Party of Ukraine, inspired by Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian Nazi collaborator. The group characterized itself by wearing Nazi symbols and organizing in a similar fashion. The SNPU renamed itself to Svoboda in 2004.

Bandera, leader of the Nazi collaborators of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) was reportedly directly responsible for killing between 40,000 and 60,000 Poles in the Volhynia Region in 1943 as well as many Jews and Communists. Stepan Bandera's collaboration with Nazi Germany also helped the Nazis to invade Ukraine where they slaughtered 3 million Ukrainians, including 900,000 Jews.

In January 2014, Svoboda led a march of 15,000 people commemorating Bandera and during the Maiden protests the red and black flag of Nazi occupation in the Ukraine was waved.

The party re-branded itself by changing its name to leave behind the Nazi stench. Nonetheless, the inescapable truth is that Oleh Tyahnybok, Svoboda leader, has called for the liberation of his country from the “Muscovite-Jewish mafia.” Whilst Svoboda adviser Yuriy Mykhalchyshyn established a "Joseph Goebbels Political Research Centre" in 2005 and wrote a 2010 book citing works by Goebbels. He has has referred to the Holocaust as a "period of Light in history".

The U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey R. Pyatt, said in a Twitter posting: “The new columns of Russian tanks and armor crossing into Ukraine indicates a Russian directed counter offensive may be underway.”

The Obama Administration was furious. “It’s one thing to disagree on some aspect of the peace process, on things that are tough for Israel to do,” the senior Administration official told me. “But this is American foreign policy that they were seeking to essentially derail. There was no other logic to it than ending the negotiations, and the gravity of that was shocking.”

Iran a major player in Gaza. They, Turkey and Qatar are the reason for the season.

Of course, no one is talking about another YEAR of meaningless talks with iran about their "peaceful" nuke program.

Now Obama wants to get a ceasefire in Gaza by propping up Iran and Assad of Syria as "peace partners" and thus reward Iran with concessions on their nukes...

And Bibi aint playing ball....

This pisses off Obama and those that seek Iran's place at the regional table as a leader...

If you study from 1978 to today Iran's track of war against the USA has gotten more and more sophisticated. Today? They are about to finish off the USA with the President of the United States help...

Iran is overjoyed..

The destruction of Sunni world and the Iranian filling of the power vacuum is almost complete. Now if they can get the USA and the WEST to finish off the Sunni's all will be right with the world...

ISIS/ISIL suck, but they are the creation of Iran's hegemony of Iraq and Syria (not to mention another 6 nations and Gaza)

he·gem·o·nyhəˈjemənē,ˈhejəˌmōnē/Submitnounleadership or dominance, especially by one country or social group over others."Germany was united under Prussian hegemony after 1871"synonyms: leadership, dominance, dominion, supremacy, authority, mastery, control, power, sway, rule, sovereignty"the Prussian hegemony of the nineteenth century"

IF Netanyahu tries and derail this, Israel will have to be put on the short side of US policy. Realistically, Israel is not important in the big picture and is not vital to US interests except as a liability because of our unquestioning support. It was a sentimental favorite for obvious reasons, but that ticket has been over-punched. The US and Israel had fifty years to get this right. Israel was too clever by half and abused the ongoing peace talks to expand its territory.

The sea that Israel has chosen to live on has devolved into the most dangerous place on earth. One state after another is breaking. Israel has no depth of territory and its entire existence is based on technological superiority that have never lasted in all of human history. Israel has neither the population nor the geography, but it has had political and diplomatic capital that it arrogantly and foolishly, pissed away. It has the US and it has abused that relationship and the abuse is beginning to show. Obama has to tell Netanyahu, he is tired of his shit and do what he has to do to assist those that want US assistance and are willing to give something in return.

I think "same store sales" is just about the most under-appreciated of all the economic numbers. I think of it in the "I don't care what You think of the new dog food, what do the dogs think?" sort of way.

And, the "Year Over Year" numbers are painting a picture of an improving economy.

The Yellow Line (year over year) on this graph makes the point rather succinctly.

Now and again, America puts its inequality on display to the world. We saw it after Hurricane Katrina and we have seen it again in the unrest in Ferguson, Missouri. A white police offer shoots dead a black man, after having stopped him for jaywalking. Britain’s police don’t have guns, so these scenes are unthinkable to us. But American-style inequality? We have plenty of that too, we’re just better at hiding it – as I say in my Telegraph column today.

I came across a striking fact while researching this piece: if Britain were to somehow leave the EU and join the US how would we rank? The answer is that we’d be the 2nd-poorest state in the union, poorer than Missouri. Poorer than the much-maligned Kansas and Alabama. Poorer than any state other than Mississippi, and if you take out the south east we’d be poorer than that too.

Hamas said Tuesday that Israel has agreed to a long-term cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, signaling the end to a seven-week war that has killed more than 2,000. There was no immediate comment from Israel.

"The negotiations have ended and we have reached understandings that underscore the steadfast stance of the Palestinian people with the victory of the resistance," Hamas' deputy leader in Cairo, Moussa Abu Marzouk said, according to Haaretz. "We are waiting for an official announcement to set the final hour and announce a cease-fire and an end to Israeli aggression."

Ziad Nakhala, a senior official in Islamic Jihad, another faction fighting in Gaza, told the Associated Press the truce calls for an "open-ended" cease-fire, and an Israeli agreement to ease its blockade. The official said Egypt planned an official announcement later Tuesday.

A senior Hamas official, speaking on condition of anonymity pending the official announcement, confirmed the terms to the AP.

The truce calls for new meetings a month from now where Israeli and Palestinians officials can discuss the construction of a Gaza seaport and the release of Hamas prisoners, Reuters reported.

The Israeli and Egyptian blockade on Gaza has been a sticking point in ongoing negotiations between the two sides, which have been meeting in Cairo to nail down a truce. Hamas has continued to demand Israel and Egypt lift their blockades, which it says prevents economic development and supplies from entering the region. Israel, meanwhile, has demanded that the Islamic militant group disarm.

Deuce ☂Tue Aug 26, 10:51:00 AM EDTIsrael should be thanking its lucky stars that the vast majority of Palestinians are sane and want the same basic things in life that all other normal human beings want.

Arab-Israelis do just fine - citizenship and all that jazz. They have been polled regularly and never once have they shown the slightest desire to leave Israel or to be governed by the murderous kleptocracy in Gaza, Judea and Samaria. Polls done in the "territories" indicate that by large majorities Arabs (and the 15% of Christians remaining since 1994) would prefer Israeli democracy. Since Abbas is in the ten year of his four year term, democracy does not move the PA mafia. To Mr. Kerry's disappointment, polling of Arabs shows no inclination whatsoever to start an intifada. Arabs also would like to work inside Israel for obvious reasons. Unfortunately, most cannot because murder-bombers also like to work inside Israel.

As an aside, I think we are going to see more kidnapping inside Israel as Hamas terrorizes the entire country a few Jews at a time. Israel did not find and seal all the tunnels.

There are reports coming from Israel that this latest, up-to-datest ceasefire has been violated, already. If so, Mr. Netanyahu is on the way out.

If you are a death cult, committed to the genocide of the Jews? Spend 40 cents of every dollar of aid to be funneled into projects that are not defensive in nature but offensive? I guess you get what you deserve.

The arabs collectively have humiliated, raped, murdered and injured Jews non-stop for 1500 years. So sorry that the jews do not accept the concept of dhimmi anymore..

Don't KNOW what dhimmi is? LOOK IT UP.

But the arabs? all 300,000,000 of them have not stopped harassing, killed, looting, raping and ethnically cleansing Jews since Ishmael was born.

But you are correct, being humiliated and injured does piss of a people, that is why the Jews are so pissed at the arabs..

We are tired of eating their shit sandwiches…

Now the greedy pricks, the arabs, control 899/900th of the middle east. Israel controls 1/900th.

Leave us the fuck alone… Or don't…

Because if you fuck with us? We will shove a stick right back up your asses….

Lois Lerner's Blackberry was 'scrubbed' shortly after the investigation into the IRS scandal began.

DOJ now admits that back-up e-mails from Lerner's account do exist as required by law but that it would be too 'onerous' an effort to try to retrieve them.

So 'alledgedly' we have, obstruction of justice, lying to Congress, and contempt of Congress charges at a minimum. Add to this the refusal of DOJ to take the charges to a grand jury as required by law, as well as, the conflict of interest involved in the DOJ defending itself and the whole bloody mess screams for the appointment of a special prosecutor.

Count on the stonewalling to last at least through the mid-terms. There is a reason Obama has never fired any of his cronies except for maybe one who insulted him publicly. To many skeletons.

Since Washington can't sit on the sidelines and wait for the results of a long-term approach, it'll do what it does best: find the middle ground. The battlefield will be expanded; airstrikes in Syria will happen. Does it all lack for strategy? Is it a prescription for mission creep? Yes and yes. But blowing up a bunch of very bad people feels good. And whether you approve or not, it's coming.

States that allow legal use of medical marijuana have lower rates of fatal overdoses from prescription medications.

A new study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found the 13 states where medical marijuana is legal had 24.8 percent fewer annual opioid overdose mortality rates.

The results indicate alternative treatments may be safer for patients suffering from chronic pain, researchers said.

About 60 percent of all deaths from opioid overdoses happen in patients who have legitimate prescriptions, and the number of patients who are prescribed opioids for non-cancer pain has nearly doubled over the last decade.

Deaths were nearly 20 percent lower in the first year after a state legalized medical marijuana and 33.7 percent lower five years later.

I personally don't think representatives should have been sent to either event. That said, it's hard to make a big deal over. If it provided any comfort to the Brown family that's great. They deserve any comfort they can get after what they have been through. From what I have seen, they have been the classiest act in this little drama.

On the other hand, not sending a single representative to the Foley memorial ceremony begs the question, what was the motivating factor for the White House? If it was a gesture of condolence, why then to one family and not the other. Was the decision primarily political? If so, was the decision politically expedient or politically tone-deaf?

I don't know the exact number, but I bet a good number of tunnels are destroyed.

And I don't know the exact number but I bet a huge number MORE of Hamas fighters are dead than Israeli fighters.

And of course, Hamas and Iran spent a very nice billion or two investing in both those tunnels and missiles and to what avail?

After 1,800 terrorists fired rockets at the CIVILIANS (both arab and jews) of Israel Hamas can claim they KILLED two. Now of course having rockets rain down hundreds a day on all parts of Israel is a war crime but who cares? Hamas is the darling of the Jew hating/Israel denying crowd...

I the end, Hamas and it's supporters will claim victory.. No matter reality...

Fresh doubt has been thrown on the narrative behind the James Foley beheading video after a Syrian government spokesperson claimed that the American journalist was killed by ISIS militants a year ago.

Following the release of a video last week which purported to show the murder of Foley, top forensic experts concluded that the footage was staged using “camera trickery and slick post-production techniques,” concurring with Infowars’ analysis that the video was highly dubious given that it was immediately used as justification for military strikes on Syria.

Official Syrian government spokesperson Bouthaina Shaaban has now complicated matters further by asserting that Foley was in fact murdered by Islamic State militants a year ago.

“James Foley was first arrested by the Free Syrian Army and he was sold to ISIS [an earlier name for the IS]. You can check with the UN…James Foley was killed a year ago, not now, they only released the pictures now, but he was killed a year ago. We have definite information, the UN has the information,” said Shaaban.

As the cease-fire began in Gaza, Tuesday evening—it was supposed to start at 7 PM but rockets and mortar shells continued to fall in Israeli territory as late as 7:15 PM—the V Day celebrations erupted in Gaza, after 50 days of clashes.

As is common on such occasions, thousands flocked in the streets, with many shooting randomly in the air, because that’s how folks have been expressing happiness in this region since the invention of gunpowder.

And then people started to drop in the streets. According to tweets from Gaza, as many as 2 locals were killed from those gunshots, and at least 25 were injured.

An 8 PM tweet in Arabic read: “Gaza: wounded in shooting in the air, internal calls for citizens to express their happiness by other means.”

Magnificent Ronald and the Founding Fathers of al Qaeda

“These gentlemen are the moral equivalents of America’s founding fathers.” — Ronald Reagan while introducing the Mujahideen leaders to media on the White house lawns (1985). During Reagan’s 8 years in power, the CIA secretly sent billions of dollars of military aid to the mujahedeen in Afghanistan in a US-supported jihad against the Soviet Union. We repeated the insanity with ISIS against Syria.